


To the tune of our souls

by hllfire



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Canon Disabled Character, Charles Xavier in a Wheelchair, Drummer Erik Lehnsherr, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Mutant Politics, Professor Charles Xavier, Stryker Is A Little Shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27116704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hllfire/pseuds/hllfire
Summary: Erik, the drummer and one of the lead singers of the band known asThe Brotherhood, writes a song after being inspired by the words of a university professor called Charles Xavier — another big name in the mutant community, much like Erik himself — and he wants Charles' speech to be in his song.The only problem is that Charles Xavier doesn't seem to agree with Erik's idea.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Comments: 43
Kudos: 100





	To the tune of our souls

**Author's Note:**

> _This is a fill to[this prompt](https://mnemo-ink.tumblr.com/post/625919829294071809/rock-band-au-cherik-erik-is-the-lead-of-a-rock) by mnemo-ink on tumblr._
> 
> First things first, a big thank you to my friend Simon ([feathershollyandgolly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/feathershollyandgolly) on ao3 and [secretlymagneto](http://secretlymagneto.tumblr.com) on tumblr) for helping me out with this by actually singing and playing the song I wrote (which is linked in the end notes). I owe you one magenta man <3
> 
> Dear lord, I can't believe I'm finally posting this. This fic has been in my drafts for at least 2 months because I finished it but editing 20k words is _not_ exactly something that I enjoy doing because it's kinda difficult lmao. I had to give it time to edit it so I could forget what I wrote and not completely hate it by reading it over and over again while editing. If there are any mistakes in spelling or coherence then I beg you to forgive me because, as I said, 20k words is not easy to edit.
> 
> BUT I managed to finally do it and here it is! The band au that I've been promising for so long with Erik as a drummer only because I have a thing for drummers (please look away). I got so invested in this when I saw the prompt that not only I ended up writing the song but also writing an entire speech for Charles to have it all in hand and coherent enough for when I was writing it.
> 
> I truly hope you guys enjoy this one, I think it's the biggest thing I've ever wrote <3

**_ERIK_ **

As much as Erik knew Emma was the best person to go to if he wanted an honest opinion on something, it didn't stop him from getting nervous about it while he waited for her to give said opinion. They were in the studio, only the two of them; Erik sitting at the drums and playing the rhythm to an Arctic Monkeys song that was playing on the speakers around them while Emma looked at the page in her hand with the lyrics of the song he had written that week. He just needed to know if the song was good or not, and nothing better than Emma's verdict to know it.

"Erik, sugar, you're projecting your nervous energy so loudly that I can't concentrate on the reading." her eyes moved from the paper, icy irisis glaring up at Erik in annoyance. Erik only frowned at her.

"If you read it faster it wouldn't be happening."

The woman rolled her eyes, going back to her reading as Erik tried not to be so nervous about it so she could finish. He couldn't help but be nervous, however, with the nature of the song. It was personal — too personal even —, and Erik wasn't sure he had ever written anything like that before in his career as a musician.

He would normally write the songs together with Janos, Azazel and Angel; it was always a group project, a group song in which the lyrics reflected all of them as a whole when the finished product was done — and the whole band had always been thankful that they didn't have to deal with a record label whenever they made songs. But, this time, Erik didn't want them to have a say on this song, not when he had put part of himself in the lyrics.

They had done that before once when Angel hesitantly showed them one of her own songs, giving them not just the lyrics but the melody as well, and it was unanimous that she should be able to play that song solo, with Erik abstaining from being the other vocalist for that one song at least. It became one of their biggest songs, top of the charts in the USA for a whole week, and put the band on the rising again — even if they were already famous enough before that. 

Erik didn't want his song to become a success like Angel’s, he just wanted it to exist, just like Angel wanted hers. He wanted to be able to play and sing it and let the words he wrote down in that piece of paper into the world. And, as he observed Emma reading, he saw how her eyes became softer — Emma Frost's soft, which was still cold and hard but _less_ — when she realized how personal the song truly was. They grew up together, she more than anyone else would be able to tell what those lyrics were about and what they meant to Erik.

"I never saw you as a poet, Erik Lehnsherr, but I have to confess that this," she waved the paper slightly in front of her. "managed to change my mind."

Emma finally put the paper down, looking straight at Erik as he stopped playing and waited for more of his friend's opinion. The first reaction was good, at least, which made Erik less nervous. Even so, judgement on something like _that_ wasn’t something easy to deal with, especially because it was judgement on Erik himself.

"What inspired you to write this?" she asked then, raising her eyebrows.

Erik opened his mouth to answer, closing it afterwards as he knew what she would say about the reason why Erik had written the song. Unfortunately, having a best friend who's also a telepath meant that there wasn't much you could hide from them, and soon Emma had one of her eyebrows up and a small playful smile in her lips.

"That cute Professor who's always in interviews talking about mutant rights?" even her voice sounded amused, which Erik knew was a sign he wouldn't hear the end of it. "I thought you didn't like him. You certainly have been calling him a lot of names ever since he started to become a public figure."

"I don't agree with him most times," Erik confessed, turning his face away from Emma and going back to playing his drums. It was his way of letting some of his nervous energy out ever since he learned how to play. "but I can't deny he did a lot for mutants in the last few years. And his last public appearance, well… His speech was actually inspiring."

"I can see that. You made a _whole song_ because of it." Emma smiled, eyes going down to the paper once more. _"Like a flower growing on the pavement, we go through the tribulation of growing in the middle of an ocean with angry waves that try to sink us to the bottom in many ways…_ Sounds like something he said in that interview, doesn't it?"

"You watched it?" Emma shrugged at that.

"I like the way he talks. And he _is_ a fellow telepath."

"Well, yes... It was inspired by his speech, although I changed it to rhyme and, well, sound better on a song... I was even thinking about putting parts of his speech, his actual words and voice, in there." Erik shrugged, pretending he wasn't enjoying the positive feedback from Emma. Not that she couldn't read his mind to see it, but he preferred not to be so obvious about it. He stopped drumming once again to take a deep breath. "I still need to know if it's good enough to pitch to the others."

"Darling, I've seen you trying to write a song by yourself before and it always was average at best. This here is your _magnum opus._ Pitch it to the rest of your band and try to get permission from Xavier to put his speech in." she hit the paper slightly, eyes kinder but still playful towards Erik as he looked back at her with a hopeful glint in his own. "I think this could be a good song to have out there, especially for the younger people. You _are_ one of the big names of mutantkind right now, what better way to inspire others than using another big name?" 

"You _do_ realize I don't really mean to inspire anyone with this, right?" Erik asked, finally putting the drumsticks away and leaning forwards a little bit, seeing Emma roll her eyes once more at him. He was used to it at this point.

"You want this to be a song for _you,_ I know, but the lyrics will resonate with others if you make it public. If Xavier's speech resonated with you, this song won't be much different. It speaks of an experience most of us went through."

Erik nodded, understanding what she was saying. In the end, it wasn't just his song — it could be Xavier's as well, if he considered if came from the man's words in the first place.

He took the lyrics back from her to look at them again, feeling himself getting excited now with the idea that this song could mean something to others just like it meant to him. He just needed his band's approval and Xavier's permission to use him in the song. Should be easy enough.

***

Erik should've known it wouldn't be easy _at all_ to get that song made the way he wanted. When was anything easy for him?

The band was pretty accepting of it after he showed it to them, everyone seemed to like it — even Azazel, who said that it was the best song he ever wrote, and Erik learned to appreciate the other man's compliments when they came. There was a small discussion about the melody, but soon they agreed that Erik would be responsible entirely for that part as well and they would only follow his lead. They also agreed that if Azazel or Janos had a song that they _really_ wanted to release, they had the green card to do it since Angel and Erik got their songs approved by them before. After that, Erik was pretty confident he would be able to get that song out, sending an email to Professor Charles Xavier about it to get his permission for using his speech. The email read:

> Hello Dr. Xavier,
> 
> My name is Erik Lehnsherr, one of the lead vocalists and drummer of the band known as The Brotherhood. I believe you've heard of me, I recall you mentioning me and my band in one of your interviews. I've been accompanying your presence in interviews and research on the mutant gene and psychology, as well as your debates about mutant rights, for years now, and although our views don't always align, I still admire the work you're doing for our kind.
> 
> That being said, I've watched the latest speech that you gave on television, which I believe was called _"Mutants and the trials of acceptance",_ and was inspired by it to write a song that me and my band intend on releasing on our upcoming album. The reason I'm contacting you is because we'd like to put parts of your speech in the song, given that it was a big inspiration for the lyrics themselves, and we wanted your permission to do so.
> 
> Looking forward for your answer,
> 
> Erik M. Lehnsherr.

He was confident that Xavier would be accepting of it, that he would see Erik's request as something good and be honored that Erik wanted to put his speech into a song for everyone to listen — he had _very_ high hopes of a positive answer, and maybe his ego was acting up there. So, when the answer from Xavier appeared in his inbox the next morning, Erik could only frown at the words he read.

> Hello Mr. Lehnsherr,
> 
> I do know who you and your band are and I'm flattered that my words inspired you in some way. However, I also know of your radical views on mutant and human relationships, which, as you said in your email, don't align with mine. You don't have the permission to use my speech in your song and hopefully you'll respect that.
> 
> My best regards,
> 
> Dr. Charles F. Xavier.

Erik read the email again to make sure he had read it right, feeling himself deflate with the negative answer and frown. Yes, they had different views, and Erik was honestly surprised to know Xavier paid enough attention to him to know his opinion on human and mutant relationships — he wasn't really quiet about his views but it was surprising nonetheless —, but he didn't expect that it would matter for that case.

He sighed, wondering if he should just make the music without Charles' speech in it, but it didn't sound fair when it was the main inspiration in the first place. Erik's vision for that song included Charles' speech, and that was all the motivation he needed to start writing another email.

  
  


**_CHARLES_ **

"You did _what?"_ Raven almost shrieked in front of Charles' desk, blue eyes of her human form wide and full of incredulity. Charles only sighed. He had to put a stop to Raven's visits at his work in the campus, he never was able to work with her around.

"Denied the rights for The Brotherhood to use one of my speeches." he repeated the resumed version of the story he just told her, looking up from his laptop to stare at his sister. "Which was _good_ because you know they're radicals when it comes to the mutant movement, and I don't want my name to be linked to that. I've worked hard to get where I am and to make people listen to me, and I'm not gonna lose it all because some band wants to use me for one of their songs."

Raven kept staring at him for a minute more, expression unchanging, until it changed to an alarmed one.

"They're one of the biggest bands right now, formed by mutants, who are always preaching about how mutant artists deserve the spotlight too!" Raven had that tone of voice that she usually used when she thought Charles was being stupid. This time he was pretty sure he wasn't being stupid, but he allowed her to keep going. "Erik Lehnsherr is a rising name in the mutant community, who fights for us just like you-"

"No, you're wrong about that. He fights for mutant superiority, that's not where I stand on the matter."

"Listen to me, you dumb-dumb," she raised her finger, making Charles raise his eyebrows. "Erik Lehnsherr asks for your permission to use your speech in a song that will probably deal with mutant issues and you just _refuse?"_

"Of course! Who's to say that the song won't be like _Evolution Revolution?_ That song is a clear point on where they stand on the mutant-human discourse." Charles shook his head, eyes going back to his computer as a notification arrived. "It still surprises me how some people don't see it in the songs- Oh Lord."

"What is it?"

"He sent another email."

Raven got up from her chair quickly then, bolting to stand behind Charles and read said email as Charles grunted with the weight of her hands on his shoulders.

"Open the email, Charles."

"Raven, just because you're a fan-"

"Aren't you curious to see what he said?"

Charles sighed, not really that curious and imagining what Erik would have to say to send another email after he refused Erik's request, and soon he was opening it. He didn't even have the time to read it himself, Raven taking the task herself and reading it out loud.

 _"Dr. Xavier, I ask you kindly to rethink your decision. This song came to be after your speech, I wouldn't have written it if it wasn't for your words, and it feels wrong not to have them in the song. Different views or not, this song is for me and every mutant who struggled with what you talked about that day, including you, and I'd like to make it how I envisioned it, with your words in it. Thank you for your patience."_ Raven hummed then once she finished the reading as Charles took a deep breath over the man's insistence. "So you're going to say yes?"

"What? No!" Charles turned his head to his sister, seeing her _tsk_ at him. "It doesn't change the fact that he's part of the radical movement. I can't have my name mixed with his views, Raven."

"Are you sure? I can read the email again with his voice. I know you secretly like the band."

"I don't secretly like them. I like a few songs that don't scream _'fuck humans, mutants forever'!"_

"And which songs are those? Most of them are about their political views."

 _"By My Side_ and _Out Of The Water_ are about love, I like those." Raven made a gagging noise at him after that, making Charles purse his lips. "You have to understand that if my voice and words fall into The Brotherhood music, the press will be on my neck asking why my name is linked to radicals when I built my entire argument under pacifism."

"I'm just saying that if I was you it would feel like an honor to have Erik Lehnsherr asking me for my voice and words to be in his music."

"Well, you're not me, are you?"

Charles should've seen it coming before he said those words, only realizing what he had enabled when Raven changed into a perfect copy of him, eyebrow raising in amusement.

"You were saying?" her voice sounded exactly like his as well, and Charles sighed.

"I'll just refuse him again and hope he doesn't bother me anymore with it."

"It's your loss…"

***

Of course Charles' hopes were crushed after he realized Erik Lehnsherr wouldn't give up, and it was becoming slightly annoying how much the drummer insisted on getting Charles' permission for something he couldn't give if he wanted to keep himself out of controversy with the media.

He had arrived at home at night, tired from a day's work, when he saw the new email from Erik, still practically begging for him to let The Brotherhood use his speech. He sighed loudly, thinking on how to answer without sounding rude — as much as he wanted to stand his ground, he hated confrontation, and he knew how easily an email could be read the wrong way —, and left his laptop on the small table near the kitchen to unwind before answering something.

He took a long warm shower and put comfortable clothes on, grabbed a snack — an awful habit of eating something before dinner he had grown accustomed with after he left his mother's house —, and turned on the radio to fill in the house's silence. His mind was trying to word the new email the whole time. When he stopped to pay attention to what the radio was playing, his hand deep inside a box of cereal because he couldn't be bothered to grab a bowl, he felt pretty sure that coincidences were very real as one of the songs by The Brotherhood played.

He turned his head to the damned device, raising an eyebrow and trying to recognize the song. It wasn't one of the many Charles didn't like, and after a few moments of thinking he remembered the title; _Rage/Serenity._ Charles quite liked that one, how the fast and angry beat died down as the music went, how Erik's and Angel's voices went from screaming and grunting the lyrics to softer voices but still full of power behind them that made Charles' eyes tear up with the feelings behind the words. The Professor couldn't deny that they were good, there was a reason why they were on the top of the charts and internationally famous after all, but he still couldn't stand some of their songs. Plus, the whole band — and especially Erik — were very public about their views, which were completely opposite from Charles'. 

He sighed, taking the cereal box with him and moving in his chair to get to the living room as Angel's voice sang the last lyrics of the song, turning the radio off and taking the remote to turn on the tv and putting YouTube on. He searched the band's name on the search bar, pursing his lips when the first videos that showed up were the songs that he absolutely hated and quickly searching for a song that he didn't despise to put up. He didn't know why he was even listening to them, but he felt like he needed it that night. 

After listening — and skipping — a few of their songs, Charles fell down the hole of their covers. As he watched Erik playing the drums and singing Eric Clapton's _"White Room",_ he almost forgot why he was denying the man the permission to use his speech. They were _good._

It was when he fell down the hole of interviews that Charles remembered.

He clicked on one of the videos of The Late Show where Erik's face was clear in the thumbnail, a small smug smile on his lips and a look in his eyes that made him look like the most confident man in the world. It was apparently a solo interview instead of the entire band being there, and Charles had to take a deep breath as he watched Erik talk openly on national television — or to the whole world thanks to the YouTube video — about how he thought mutants should be the ones in charge at this point, not humans.

He didn't say it out loud and directly for the world to hear, but it was there between the lines for anyone with a brain to understand. Charles knew that Colbert was able to catch it too as he saw the expression in the host's face, even if the man was professional enough to not have a bigger reaction and actually making a calm discussion about it instead of letting the topic go over his head.

At least Erik seemed to talk with confidence on what he was talking about, bringing good arguments that even Charles was surprised to hear coming from the drummer. But everything he said was still against everything Charles believed and everything he built his image on. If he ended up in one of the band's songs, he wouldn't hear the end of it, and it would probably ruin everything he worked for in his years as a public figure.

When he finally stopped watching the videos he realized how late it actually was, grimacing to himself as he remembered he would have to wake up earlier the next morning due to an event on the campus where he would be the opener and he hadn't even had dinner. He _did_ eat half of the cereal box in the meantime while he listened to the songs and watched the interviews, but he needed dinner to finish his routine and rest for the night.

His laptop was still open on the desk, screen black thanks to the time it took for Charles to give it attention again, and he moved the mouse a little bit only to see Erik's email open still, waiting for a reply. He bit his lip, trying to come up with a good way to refuse Erik's request _yet again,_ when he realized that there was no smooth way of doing it, especially now that he was tired and wanted to eat and sleep as fast as possible. So, with a sigh, Charles started typing.

> Mr. Lehnsherr,
> 
> No.
> 
> My best regards,
> 
> Dr. Charles F. Xavier.

**_ERIK_ **

Erik walked into the university campus with long strides, ignoring the looks of recognition from everyone around him as he walked with a purpose. He had seen a flier in one of the university's boards informing in which building the lecture Xavier would be opening that day would be held, and he intended on going straight there.

His black trench coat moved loosely around him and his sunglasses stopped the early morning sun from irritating his eyes — he had woken up too early that day, earlier than he normally would, just to drive there and arrive on time —, but they did nothing to really hide his identity. He just really hoped no fans would stop him for a picture or autograph at that moment. He was already a bit late for the lecture, which he blamed on the New York traffic on his way there and not on the fact that he had forgotten his car keys first when he left his house, then his wallet second, and then going back inside his house a third time to find the sunglasses he was wearing.

All because he couldn't take a _no._

He wouldn't usually be this annoyed by a negative answer, or wouldn't be so persistent with something like that when he could easily change his idea for that song, but the fact was that he _didn't_ want to change it. There was something in Xavier's words that he needed in that track, to make the song fully make sense for him, because those lyrics wouldn't have been written if it weren't for that Professor and his speech. To Erik, the song would only be finished once Xavier's words were in it too, their shared fight for their kind in a song he made because, as much as it was Erik's song about himself, it somehow was also about Charles, even if he had never met the other man in his life.

As he entered the auditorium where the lecture would be happening, he wasn't really surprised to see that it was already almost full, with people still arriving in waves and trying to find a place to sit down or just standing at the back where they would be able to see the lecture. At least he wasn't too late.

He knew how famous Charles Xavier was for his lectures, he had a way with words that Erik envied sometimes whenever he watched an interview with the Professor — even his posh british accent seemed to make his arguments more compelling —, and it was only fair that a lot of people would gather around to hear him talking. Erik could see that the majority of the people there were mutants, a few physical mutations standing out in the crowd as he looked, making him smile to himself. He couldn't lie that he loved the display of those mutations, had always found them incredible, and seeing them there showing proudly what they were to the world made Erik appreciate even more Xavier's work inside Columbia.

He walked to the front of the auditorium, hearing a few people start muttering his name and look straight at him as he passed them. There was one vacant seat at one of the front rows that probably wasn't occupied because the people coming in were in groups and wanted to sit together, and Erik thanked his luck as he started to excuse himself to get to the vacant seat. When he sat down with a grunt and looked to the person by his side to give them a sympathetic smile as a _thank you_ for letting him pass in front of them, he found wide blue eyes staring at him with clear recognition.

For a moment, he thought it was just a fan who would now be constantly bothering him through the lecture, until he recognized the face. It was Xavier's sister.

"You're Erik Lehnsherr." she said then, as if she didn't believe the information herself.

"And you're Raven Xavier."

The woman gasped for a second as if she couldn't believe that Erik had just said her name, and he only raised his eyebrows at that, waiting for her to get herself together.

"You know my name." 

"Yes. I've seen you in some of your brother's interviews." she smiled brightly at that then, making Erik smile back at how sincere it looked. "Nice to meet you."

He raised his hand to shake hers, Raven taking a few seconds to process what he wanted before she had a firm grip on his hand, shaking it vigorously.

"I'm sorry if I sound rude, but what the hell are you doing here?" she asked when she let his hand go, brow furrowing at the drummer as he shrugged. 

"I wanted to talk to your brother and I knew he would have an open lecture here today." something in Raven's eyes sparked with his words, making Erik frown slightly. "Do you know if I'll be able to reach him after this?"

"Yeah, yes. Charles will be only listening once he finishes his opening, they had some technical difficulties or else he would be talking already. I believe he'll be able to see you after he finishes because he always looks for me in the crowd after one of his speeches." she shrugged, a small smile on her lips now. "Seeks my approval like a big ol' nerd."

Erik snorted at that, assuming from the way Raven talked about Xavier that they were very close. As much as Raven was making fun of him, there was fondness hidden in her voice.

"Is it about the song?" Erik blinked at her then, raising his eyebrows in surprise when he processed her words. _So she knew..._ "Charles told me yesterday about your request. I tried to convince him to give you a _yes_ but my brother is as stubborn as me."

"It is about the song, yes… I wanted to try to talk to him personally."

"Well, good luck! I certainly hope you manage to get his permission because I want to tell everyone that my nerd of a brother was in a song by The Brotherhood." she gave Erik a wide grin, making Erik huff out a laugh and shake his head slightly.

It was only when he saw movement next to them of a mutant with wings showing off and making people laugh that Erik realized that Raven was not in her natural form. He had seen the woman by her brother's side once in a television show that wanted to talk about the life of the Xavier siblings, and Raven had been in her blue form there, scales all over her body, red haired and eyes as yellow as citrine. There, by his side, she had blonde curls falling over her shoulder and pale blue eyes, skin peach-pale that was colored at the cheeks from talking to Erik.

"I'm so sorry but I really need to ask," he started, looking at the woman more closely as she tilted her head to the side slightly, wondering what Erik would say next. "Why aren't you in your natural form?"

She looked at Erik then with an amused look, as if that question was something she was used with at this point, and soon she was shrugging.

"I didn't feel like it." it was a simple answer, but that made Erik frown even deeper and Raven chuckle at his reaction. "I know this is a safe place for me to be blue and everything, but sometimes I just want to stroll around and not be looked at."

"You shouldn't even deal with that, people shouldn't look your way just because you're blue."

The way Raven looked at Erik after his words was akin to a person looking at a small child who didn't understand the world. He didn't know how to feel about it.

"You're right, people shouldn't look my way because I'm blue. But they do. And it's not always bad, sometimes I don't mind the looks, but sometimes I _like_ being like this." she explained calmly as Erik listened closely. "I'm using my power to stay this way, and it feels comfortable. Comfort is a big part of acceptance, don't you think?"

"Yes, I guess so." Erik answered quietly, seeing her smile as if she knew he was understanding what she was talking about.

"I know you think mutations should be on display all the time without fear or shame, I agree with you fully on that, I'm also in no way saying I'm afraid or ashamed of my appearance, but sometimes I don't feel like being blue and I have the power to just _change._ Today I felt like looking like this, soon this could change and I'd change back without a problem, but for now this is comfortable. It's just like changing clothes for me. And it's as Charles keeps saying to me: different body, same mind. I don't always listen to him but about that, he's right."

Erik only looked at the woman then, giving her a quiet _'hm'_ as he thought about her words. Raven in return gave him another amused smile.

"Before you think something wrong, this has nothing to do with Charles' views. I know you and him have different views on this, but this is _my_ view on _my_ mutation."

"I didn't think it was because of him."

"Good. But I wanted to make sure. Some people still come at him because they think I am being manipulated by him to look _'more human'."_ she grimaced, letting it clear that this was a current issue still. Now that she said it, Erik remembered reading something about that somewhere, although he didn't remember his opinion on the matter. "It's really not the case."

Erik nodded then, receiving a friendly smile from her until both of them looked at the stage when someone spoke at the microphone. Apparently the lecture was about to start.

He sat more comfortably on his seat, noticing some people coming from the side of the stage, probably the ones who would be giving the main lecture, to sit at the small table that was set on the stage for them, until he saw Charles Xavier entering behind them in his wheelchair and going to the small lectern on the side. This was the first time he was seeing the man in person even if he had been accompanying Xavier's rise as an important name for mutantkind for years now.

He always thought that the tv made Charles' lips redder than they should be, but now that he was seeing him there, he could see that it wasn't the case. However, he was just as pale as the tv had made him look, not in a sickly way but still very much pale skinned under the white lights, a few freckles visible on his face from that distance as the Professor placed a few papers over the lectern. Erik concluded one thing about Xavier as he watched the man there: he was as attractive in real life as in television — thankfully Emma wasn't there to hear that, she wouldn't let him live it down.

For a moment, Charles frowned as if he had just heard something, raising his head and looking around the room for a moment, eyes narrowing as the bright lights probably blinded him from the audience. He seemed to look for something, giving up after a few moments and shaking his head dismissively, testing the microphone before he smiled at the room, absolutely charming.

"Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for coming here this morning. I know it's early and some of you would rather be in bed," there were a few agreeing grunts from the people in the auditorium, making his smile widen. "but you won't regret being here today. I can assure you all that the morning will be interesting enough. And to my students who came because I traded my Complex Traits and Evolutionary Genetics class this morning for this lecture, it _better_ be interesting. Your grades will depend on that."

 _"Boo,"_ someone screamed in mockery, making a few people laugh. 

"Just because you get good grades doesn't mean I won't remember that, Bobby." there was something in Charles' expression that gave away that he was playing around, a few of what Erik could only assume were his students going _'oooo'_ at the boy who got told off by Charles. The Professor chuckled at that, giving Bobby a friendly nod. "Anyway, if you don't know who I am, my name is Charles Xavier. I'm a professor of this university from the genetics department. I'm here to welcome you to this lecture."

Erik just sat back and watched as Xavier talked, half paying attention to what he said as he tried to think on how he would talk to him later, what to say to convince the Professor to give in to his request. _'Hello, I know I've been bothering you a lot about this but please give me permission to use your words in my song'_ was a good idea, but it still sounded desperate in Erik's head and he had _some_ pride to maintain. He spent the next minutes figuring out what to say, eyes looking at Charles but not really seeing him.

 _'Professor, it's a pleasure to meet you',_ he thought as a starter. Good, formal, and he wasn't lying.

 _'Thank you for talking to me',_ polite, Xavier would probably like that.

 _'I needed to come here so I could talk face to face to you about my request. I couldn't just let it go without trying to ask you personally',_ good, showed that Erik was determined to get Xavier's yes on the matter, but not exactly desperate.

He got distracted for a moment as the people around him laughed at something Xavier had said, looking again at the Professor and seeing how comfortable he seemed on that stage, an easy smile painting his lips that made Erik smile as well unconsciously, as if Charles' smile was contagious. As the man went back to talking, Erik went back to not paying attention. It truly felt like school all over again, except that the drummer wouldn't need to seek someone later to get what was said during the lecture he decided to space out on.

 _'This song I wrote means a lot to me, it's part of myself that I put on paper and I wanted to let it out into the world, but it'll only feel complete with your words in it',_ also true, and maybe it would make the Professor understand what it meant to Erik if he saw Erik's face and the tone of his voice as he said those words. An email wasn't exactly a good way to convey that. 

_'So, please, reconsider your previous decision',_ was a great ending, just enough said to make Xavier understand what he wanted and why he wanted it without dragging it out for longer than necessary.

It was only when the audience started applauding that Erik noticed that Charles had finished his introduction, getting out of the stage with a smile on his face as someone who was sitting at the table on the stage started to talk. Erik swallowed his own spit as he waited for the other man to get closer, blue eyes scanning the rows of chairs and probably looking for Raven like the girl said he often did, when they stopped on Erik and he froze for a moment. That moment turned into longer than normal, and Erik clenched his jaw as he tried to think of what to do.

"You should go there." Raven's voice suddenly said by his side. "But thank you for gracing me with the knowledge that my brother _can_ be surprised sometimes."

Erik nodded at her politely as he got up and started walking towards the Professor. Charles seemed to be talking with someone, his voice sounding reassuring as Erik got closer to him, right before his eyes turned to Erik's.

"Hello." Erik said awkwardly, raising his hand for a shake. Around them, a few people were paying more attention to the interaction than to the lecture happening. "Erik Lehnsherr."

Xavier nodded, clearing his throat and shaking Erik's hand firmly, looking less like he was caught off guard now. "I'm aware. Charles Xavier."

"I'm aware." Erik smiled as he gave Charles his own words, seeing the other man smile back slightly, not quite reaching his eyes. "Could we talk somewhere?"

The Professor looked at the stage and then at Erik again before he nodded with a sigh, gesturing for Erik to follow him. If someone asked if Erik turned off a few phones that were pointed at him as he walked behind Charles, he would deny it thoroughly.

They left the auditorium, moving a bit more as they were out to stand away from the doors until the Professor turned to him with a very professional look in his face. 

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Lehnsherr?" something in the man's expression told Erik that he knew exactly why Erik was there and wasn't pleased at all with it. Even so, Erik smiled as if he didn't care that he was bothering Xavier. 

"Thought you could read minds." the drummer tried, pointing at his own head amusedly as Charles' expression stayed the same.

"I do, but I follow a policy of not breaking someone's privacy unless I have their permission or when it is an emergency. So, please, if you could make it quick, Mr. Lehnsherr." Charles crossed his arms, looking at his wristwatch for a moment. "I still need to go inside to watch the lecture. I'm the host after all."

"Right." Erik's smile faded, his posture growing more serious now that he saw that Charles wasn't in the mood for playfulness. Thankfully, he had everything he wanted to say to the Professor already planned, it was all that he did inside that auditorium even. 

Unfortunately, all that came out of his mouth was: "Please let me use your speech."

Xavier sighed right after those words, not looking remotely surprised with them and pursing his lips at Erik.

"I thought the email I sent you yesterday was pretty clear."

"I know, but I wanted to talk to you anyway because-"

"Mr. Lehnsherr, please stop bothering me with that. My answer is still no, and I'll trust you to respect that now that I said it loud and clear to you."

"But why? Just because we have different political views?"

 _"Exactly._ Finally you seem to understand, sir. My views _cannot_ mix with yours. I spent years building my name publicly with a friendly approach for both mutants and humans, which was _not_ how you built yours." Xavier's voice was harsher now, annoyed, and Erik pursed his lips as he watched the man in front of him. "If I ever agreed to have my words and my name under a song written by you, that I can rightly assume talk about mutants, everything I built can go down the drain, and I'd prefer that it did not happen."

"We fight the same cause."

"I fight for equality, Mr. Lehnsherr. You fight for supremacy." Erik's expression changed at Charles' words then, getting harder as he looked down at the Professor.

"You fight for existence under their wings when we are more than capable of living on our own terms."

"And those terms would include the millions of human lives that are around us?"

"They have their rules, we would have ours."

"That'd be really hard to do when we are living among them, don't you think? And if you think I'm wrong about my views, why would you even bother in using my words in your song? For all I know my speech didn't talk about mutants being superior to humankind."

Erik thought very hard about agreeing with Xavier there, to just drop the original idea and make the song without Charles' speech anyway, or even discarding the song completely once it was heavily inspired by that man in front of him. But Erik couldn't, he had set his mind on it, on releasing that damned song that started this whole thing, because it felt important to him.

So, with a sigh, Erik patted the pockets of his overcoat, finding a pen in one of them and looking at Charles with a serious expression. The Professor only looked back with curious eyes, the clear blue in them still stained with some annoyance over the drummer. 

"Do you have a piece of paper?"

Xavier frowned, but soon he was reaching for a pocket in his tweed jacket — _the stereotype of a college professor,_ Erik thought — and taking out a small and seemingly very used notepad, handing it to Erik without further questions. Erik quickly found a blank page and started writing on it, ignoring Charles' questioning looks until he gave the notepad back, still open on the page he wrote in. Charles read the words carefully, looking even more confused at what he had seen.

"Meet me at that place on Saturday. The time is there. You still have to go inside to your lecture and we can talk better over a cup of coffee."

"You seem very confident that I'm going."

"Do me the honor of going, Xavier. I'll bring you the lyrics so you can see the song and judge it yourself." Erik pocketed the pen again, sighing and raising his hand for Charles to shake as a goodbye. It took a few seconds, but Xavier shook it. "Have a nice day."

"Same to you, Mr. Lehnsherr."

Xavier was the first to leave, getting back into the auditorium as Erik watched and took a deep breath. He wasn't known for giving up on what he wanted, and he surely wasn't about to do it now.

  
  


**_CHARLES_ **

The sound of Raven singing loudly to some old song from back when they were kids filled Charles' ears as he looked at his notepad, Erik's handwriting catching his attention as if the words were made with neon lights, when in reality it was just a few words written in a hushed handwriting with a blue pen.

> _Ballfields Café, Central Park. 3PM._

He really shouldn't go, there was no way that Charles would change his mind with Erik, and yet the man was clearly determined on getting Charles to say yes. Why exactly, he didn't know, and that only made his curiosity higher as he looked at the address on that piece of paper. Erik had offered to show him the lyrics of the damned song so he could judge it himself, and he now wanted to read them, to see why this song was so important for Erik Lehnsherr to go to Columbia after him after being denied three times — four that morning. He wondered when his curiosity grew bigger than the annoyance of being bothered on something he had already made up his mind about.

"You could stop staring at that address like it'll jump out of the paper and bite you." Raven's voice made him raise his eyes, seeing her placing a plate with a good portion of food in front of him. Lots of vegetables included, which made him purse his lips. "Hey, no turning up your nose at the salad. You have been living on fast food and frozen food recently and I really don't want my brother to die because he can't eat healthy."

"There's more salad than dinner here."

"The dinner _is_ the salad, Charles."

"Awful. Worse experience of my life. Remind me to never call you to have dinner with me again." Raven snorted at that, watching Charles take his fork anyway and take a big bite of the salad, talking again with his mouth full. _"Amm och ztawin ach the ahgresh."_

"Sharon would be mortified if she saw you now, you know that?" the woman raised her eyebrows as Charles swallowed the food in his mouth.

"I said, I'm not staring at the address. I was just thinking."

"About the address?"

"It gets harder and harder to have a conversation with you each day." Charles gave her a smile, seeing her smile as well, yellow eyes staring back at him as if she knew he had more to say. "I'm just tired that's all. And I have no idea why Erik Lehnsherr of all people won't leave me alone."

"Actually, you _do_ have an idea why. He wants that speech in his song." she said matter-of-factly, shrugging at him. "If you don't want him to bother you anymore then don't go after him on Saturday. I think it'll be a good enough message of _'I won't change my mind'_ for him since he apparently doesn't listen."

Charles stayed quiet for a moment, eating silently and avoiding Raven's gaze for long enough for her to let go of the fork she was holding and look at him with judgement all over her face.

"Charles-"

"I'm curious! He is insisting more than anyone ever would about this! And yes, we had a disagreement outside the auditorium today about our views that showed me _exactly_ why I won't let him use my voice and words in the song, but what is making him so sure that he needs it to keep pushing and not just releasing the song without me in it?"

"Maybe he's just stubborn, have you thought about that?"

"Yes, but he doesn't seem like the kind of person to just do that for no bigger reason."

"Is either that or you just want to have a cup of coffee with Erik Lehnsherr. There's a lot of songs and interviews with his band in your recommended on YouTube, which means you've been watching."

"It was just yesterday, I wanted to listen to something." 

"Sure." Charles glared at her, she only raised her eyebrows. "Then go meet your bad drummer boy, nerd. But you'll have to tell me what happens with details when you're back."

***

Charles took advantage of the fact that he was going to the Central Park anyway to go around it for a while before the time Erik had set for them to meet. He rarely went there anymore, even if he lived nearby, his busy schedule making it harder for him to just take a moment to unwind and have a stroll through the city these days. He made a mental observation to do it more, especially now that Summer was slowly turning to Autumn and the trees were starting to get the orange and yellowish colored leaves that he loved to see.

Around him, he blocked the minds of everyone else so he could stay with his own thoughts. It was routine for him to do that in places where there would be too many people, to block the crowd's minds so he didn't get lost in other people's thoughts, and it was also routine for him to pick up on stray loud thoughts around the place that made their way through his shields. He could feel the cheerful feeling of a child and their dog playing nearby, the child's mind screaming in joy, but he could also feel the gloomy feeling from a man walking close to him, mind too deep in his sadness and creating loud thoughts for any telepath around to hear.

Charles didn't like it, but it wasn't like he could stop himself from being himself, from hearing other people's minds, which reminded him of the lecture early that week and the stray thought that crossed his shields, making him blush as he started moving to reach the café.

There were a lot of people inside the auditorium, it could've been from anyone, but Charles was almost a hundred percent sure that it had been Erik's mind that thought very loudly how attractive he was on that stage. He normally wouldn't mind a thought like this, sometimes people did think very loudly about Charles' appearance — both good and bad things —, but the mind seemed new to him even if the voice was familiar and sounded a lot like the drummer from The Brotherhood, which made him look around the auditorium to try and see who was there, not being able to do it properly thanks to the lights on the stage almost blinding him.

When Charles saw Erik there, sitting right by Raven's side, he had frozen because there was _no way_ that it was a coincidence. If he was being honest, he was flattered at the untold compliment, and maybe it was what made the situation even more awkward.

When Charles finally arrived at the café at exactly 3 p.m., he noticed Erik sitting there on one of the outdoor tables and looking down at his phone, unaware of Charles' presence as he wheeled closer. Erik was in more casual clothes this time — blue jeans and a grey t-shirt, no overcoat that made him look like what Raven would call a _bad boy_ — with sunglasses covering his eyes, and suddenly Charles was glad he didn't dress up for this meeting, wearing jeans himself and a soft blue sweater that he liked.

"Hello." Charles said to announce his presence once he was close to the table, watching as Erik raised his head and looked at him through the sunglasses.

After a few seconds, a winning smile appeared on his lips and Charles felt like turning away just because of that. On Erik's surface thoughts, the sheer victory feeling from the fact that Charles _had_ come made the telepath raise his eyebrows at him.

"Hello." Erik said it back, getting up from his seat to shake Charles' hand. "I'm glad you came."

"Of course. Although I can't say you'll get what you want out of this. I'm just here because curiosity has always been one of my weaknesses."

"Then maybe your curiosity is in my favor."

They sat down across from each other at the table after Erik moved the chair that originally was there so Charles could fit his own. The drummer pocketed his phone and put his sunglasses on the collar of his shirt as a waitress approached them to take their orders. Charles cringed slightly when he realized the look in the woman's face as she looked down at Erik. Apparently she was a fan, and it was amusing to see the turmoil of thoughts swirling through her head as Erik told her what he would want. She turned to Charles with such a strong feeling of disappointment that he was making her stop looking at Erik for the few seconds that it took for him to order his Matcha Latte that Charles almost laughed out loud. She left with their orders and a big smile towards Erik.

"You've got a fan." Charles commented, crossing his arms over the table and looking over at Erik with an amused smile. The drummer raised his eyebrows. "The waitress. She was thinking very loudly about how this is the best day of her life. Probably is going to ask for a picture."

"I thought you said you didn't listen in to people's thoughts."

"I don't, but you'd be surprised at how loud people's minds are when they're excited because _'the man of their lives'_ is at the café they work."

"She didn't think that."

"Oh, she definitely did." Erik made a distressed expression then, making Charles actually chuckle with how common it probably was for Erik to face that.

They struck a friendly conversation, as if they were actual friends and had not met for the first time only a few days ago because of Erik's insistence. There was small talk at first until the conversation went to Erik's work and band members and Charles' work and Raven. Light enough conversation to make Charles even forget why he was there for a while as he laughed at some stories from Erik's shows. It was strangely pleasant to be in Erik's presence, Charles noticed; the drummer's mind was a pleasant buzz against Charles' shields, sometimes projecting his own enjoyment of Charles' company to the telepath and making Charles smile wider at him.

When their orders came, Charles' words came true when the waitress asked Erik for a picture, to which Erik agreed but not before shooting a look at Charles that made the telepath snort. Charles was the one who took the picture, and once the girl was gone with her mind loudly screaming her happiness, Charles gave Erik a smirk that was received with a groan. 

"At least this one didn't ask me to marry her."

"Is that a common occurrence?"

"You have _no_ idea."

Charles chuckled, taking the first sip of his drink as Erik took one of his own coffee, expression slowly changing to a more serious one. Charles reached for the man's mind then, catching the shift from _friendly_ to _business_ in Erik's thoughts as he reached for one of his pockets and took a piece of folded paper from it.

"So, about the song…"

Charles' body language shifted as well, knowing that it was the time to stand his ground on the matter as he took the paper offered to him, opening it and placing it on the table so he could read. For what he could see, it was the lyrics. 

He half expected them to be like many others where The Brotherhood had stated their point of view on humans, maybe full of angry words that would be sung with angry voices as well, but he was met with something very different from what he expected. He could see where Erik had taken inspiration in his latest speech for those lyrics — it talked about everything Charles had tackled in it after all —, and Charles felt how vulnerable Erik felt as he watched Charles read the song. It felt personal, and the telepath didn't remember any other song from Erik's band being like this, except maybe one song by Angel that was on the list of songs he did like from The Brotherhood.

It wasn't a song about Erik's views. It was a song about Erik, and somehow, Charles saw himself in most of the words written there.

"That's… That's a really good song. Different from the others from your band."

"Oh, so you listen to us?" there was a small playful smile on Erik's lips that went away as he took a deep breath, shrugging and quickly adding, "I wrote it by myself. Didn't have help from the others."

Charles stared at the paper again, looking at the lyrics for something that could show that this wasn't at all what Charles thought it was, but there was nothing. It was a song about Erik and his own experience, nothing more. And although Charles could argue that anything and everything is political and that those lyrics represented some of Erik's views, he couldn't deny that he had the same view when it came to the contents in that piece of paper. That changed things.

 _"But how else would you even start to pay attention if I didn't forget my own fears and took a stand to create tension…"_ Charles read out loud, eyes still focusing on the paper. Across from him, Erik shifted in his chair, mind starting to become unquiet. "Don't I know how it feels…"

"As much as I'm not a scholar like you I like to think I helped to bring awareness to the mutant cause."

"Oh, and you did. I'd say even more than me since you get a different target audience." Charles raised his eyes then, watching Erik carefully as the man's stern expression hid his nervousness. "My work has academic value. I am working to change the academic view on mutants and trying to include us more there. And although I make public speeches and go to talk shows, your interviews where you talk about mutants and our struggles are more responsible for shaping the public view on these subjects since you are a very known public figure. My words don't always reach your audience."

"But if your voice and words were in one of my songs, it _would…"_

Charles smiled then, seeing Erik smile back at his own try of making Charles give in to his request.

"You truly don't give up, do you?"

"Not when it's important. And this is. To me at least."

Charles watched Erik for a moment then, biting the inside of his lip and taking a deep breath. His eyes fell to the lyrics again, skimming through the words for a moment longer before he sighed in defeat.

"Looks like you managed to change my mind…"

  
  


**_ERIK_ **

"So what you're telling me is that you and Charles Xavier were on a date this past Saturday?" Emma asked, blue eyes staring at Erik with one eyebrow raised. Erik, in return, choked on his food.

Some people around them in the restaurant turned to look, some eyes drawn to them thanks to the loud cough that Erik gave, some just waiting for a chance to look at Erik's direction so they could gossip about it — he didn't need to be a telepath to know that those people were observing his every move.

He didn't like going out for dinner much, especially because there were always people taking pictures of him or stopping him for a picture or autograph, so it was way more convenient to stay at home. But unfortunately he had promised Emma to take her to dinner sometime and she wasn't one to forget promises, especially from Erik, and so he was there in that fancy restaurant with Emma looking at him with a deadpan expression as he took a sip of his drink to help the food go down after the woman's words.

"It wasn't a date." he managed to say after a moment, looking at his friend and watching Emma smile amusedly at him. "We were there because I was trying to get his permission."

"Over a cup of coffee on a beautiful day on Central Park, with the charming Professor smiling at you the whole time. You know, you should ask him out again. If you got a boyfriend I'd finally be free from the rumors that I'm secretly your girlfriend."

"Gross."

"You _wish_ you could date me, sugar."

"No, thank you. I'll pass that opportunity." Erik shook his head, chuckling. "It wasn't a date. My interactions with him were professional."

"Dearest, I'm a telepath, remember? I can see in that peanut brain of yours that you thought he looked, let me see, _really cute in that blue sweater._ And, wow, I never took you for a romantic but you really spent a lot of time looking at the color of his eyes. You should be glad that he has that stupid rule of not looking into people's minds deliberately."

"Emma…"

"I think you like how he contradicts you." Emma pointed her fork at Erik, seeing the man purse his lips as he glared at her. "Is that a turn on for you? Debate? Really, Erik…"

In response, Erik waved his hand slightly, bending her fork and seeing her narrow her eyes at him. He watched as her hand turned crystal clear, the lights from the restaurant making it gleam, and she put the fork back to normal, her skin returning to the normal pale that it always was right after. She pointed at him with the fork again.

"So you're not denying." Erik groaned at that. Emma smirked widely. "I'm playing with you, stupid man. But there is attraction there, even if you try to deny it. When are you seeing him again?"

"Why would I see him again?" Emma stopped talking then, eyes boring into Erik and making him frown until he felt the familiar feeling of Emma messing around in his head. "Emma-"

"Oh, so you're going to his office at Columbia this Thursday. How sweet. Do yourself a favor and ask him out."

"I'm _not_ asking him out."

"Your loss."

***

There were a few clouds in the sky as Erik walked into the building Charles had told him his office was, ignoring everyone around him in order to get to the telepath, a thin folder in his hand where the documents he would need Xavier to sign were. After asking someone for directions — and taking a picture with the person —, Erik finally arrived at Charles' office, finding the door open and realizing that the Professor had company. For a moment, he had to hold back his expression when he saw that said company was Raven, and that she was in her natural blue form. In person, she was even more incredible than on camera.

"Oh, Erik! You're right on time." Charles said, making Erik's eyes move to him and notice the small smile on the scholar's lips, somehow even more distracting than Raven. "I believe you and Raven have already met so I'll skip introductions."

"Uh, yeah. We met." Erik confirmed with a nod.

"I'm already on my way out so you guys can talk about boring legal related stuff."

"Don't distract Hank from his work on your way out." Charles raised his eyebrows at his sister, the girl rolling her eyes at him. "He is already late on some papers. Have mercy on him."

"I'll think about that. Bye, big brain. Bye to you too, Erik."

Erik nodded his goodbye as the girl walked past him to leave the office, his eyes following her for a moment as he watched the scales on her skin in the afternoon light. Inside the room, Charles chuckled.

"She's marvelous, isn't she?" Charles' voice made him look back at the Professor, seeing a sweet smile on his lips as he talked about his sister. Erik pushed back the voice in his head, that strangely sounded a lot like Emma's, saying that he was attractive. "Her mutation is just wonderful."

"It truly is. She's really beautiful."

"She is, and she's my _sister."_

"Oh, no, I didn't mean like that." Erik raised his hands a little bit in defense, but Charles' face had a playful expression to it, making the drummer relax again. "I brought the papers."

"Wonderful! Please come in and close the door, will you?"

Erik did as he was told, looking around himself for a moment and smiling at how it did look like the ambient someone like Charles would spend his time on. There was a wall that was covered in books about what Erik could only imagine were about genetics, giving it was Charles' area in Columbia, although he could see some psychology related books hidden in there as well. There were a few trinkets and knick knacks on the shelves together with the books, decorating them. Charles' desk had a few more books over it together with some papers and two picture frames, both of them with pictures of what looked like him and Raven. One was an old photo, yellow and almost fading now with the time, and two children stood in the front yard of a house with big smiles on their faces; the other one was more recent, with Raven in her blue skin smiling at the camera as she hugged a smiling Charles, both of them with bottles of beer in their hands. Erik didn't even notice he was staring at the pictures until Charles huffed out a small laugh from the other side of his desk.

"She gave me both of those." he said, touching one of the frames lightly. "She insists that I have to think about her everyday and all the time. I liked those pictures so I didn't mind."

"They're really nice pictures."

"They are. But I'm sure that's not what you came to discuss…"

"Oh, right." Erik shook his head slightly, placing the folder on top of Charles' desk before sitting down in one of the soft chairs available there.

Charles took the folder then, to look at the papers inside, and soon they were in silence as the Professor read the document. Erik took the time to look around a little more around the room.

Behind Charles, there was a wall where his diplomas were hanging, making Erik raise his eyebrows at the amount of frames on the wall, realizing just then why Charles' voice was so important in the academic area. He had enough degrees to make his arguments more than valid to the academic world. There was a picture amongst the various diplomas, of Charles standing in front of one of the buildings of the university campus and smiling brightly at the camera as a banner that Erik couldn't really read was right behind him. Charles suddenly raised his eyes from the document he was reading, looking at Erik and then behind himself to the picture that the drummer was just staring before smiling at Erik again.

"This was when I started the mutant program here at Columbia years ago. The first program in the world to take research about mutants made by mutants. You'll have to excuse me if I sound too proud of that."

"Ah," Erik answered dumbly. "Was I thinking too loud?"

"A little bit, yes." 

"Well, it's a good picture. And a good program, I'm guessing."

"We have hundreds of papers about mutants in an archive now thanks for that program actually. About history, psychology, genetics... Which mostly were mine at the start. So I'd say it is a good program. Gave us academic material to understand ourselves and for the humans to understand us as well."

"You're right." Erik raised his eyebrows, a small smile appearing on his lips. "You do sound too proud."

"Can you blame me? I spent years of my life dedicating myself to get this program open and it's one of my proudest accomplishments. It made the academic world see us and gave them material coming from the source. Gave us our chance to take our narrative instead of letting humans write it for us."

"Ugh, I remember the research made by humans. What was the name of that man again? Trask..?"

"Bolivar Trask, I believe." Charles nodded. "Thankfully our research has more value than one like Trask's now, although we still accept papers made by humans sometimes."

"Why? I thought it was for mutants only." 

"To show the other side. Some are good papers, talk about the subjects well enough to be used as sources for us. Some are there to be read and criticized. As much as excluding humans completely from making anything about us is tempting, closing off our eyes to them is never the best option. We need to see what they're doing and their views on us so we can contradict them if necessary. Every research about mutants here goes through me and the other professors involved in the program before it's released publicly."

"So you're saying you allow humans to contribute to the program just to tell them off or use them as an example if they're wrong?"

"Well, not always, but most times." the smug smile on Charles' lips then made Erik raise his eyebrows and huff out a laugh.

"I'd be making things differently."

"Ah, yes. I know. You'd shut down any human who tried to say a word about us."

"There are clearly mutants who can do the research, why let them do it as well?"

"As I said, different views, Erik. Just like you and I, I guess." the scholar shrugged, eyes going back down to the document as Erik sighed. 

"You're still a mutant. At least you have a say in the matter even if I don't agree with how you want to handle things."

"I know. But trust me when I say that, for me, keeping the discussion going on both sides, with each side listening to one another, is what moves us closer to some resemblance of equality."

"They should listen to _us."_

"And some do. I don't think there was ever a time in the history of this world that everyone agreed on something unanimously. There was always someone to disagree. It won't be different now."

"I don't care if they disagree. I _know_ they'll disagree and I don't care as long as their disagreement doesn't hurt us or erase our voice completely."

Charles looked up at Erik again then, blue eyes watching Erik's face for a moment before a small smile showed up on his face and he nodded. 

"I guess you have a point."

Erik didn't answer as Charles looked back down to the paper, hand reaching for a pen as his eyes moved over the words typed there. The drummer only observed him and thought about that interaction, how different it was from the first day Erik had reached out for Charles and how their discussion about their different views led to angry stares from both of them. That one right there was friendly enough, a debate over a subject that they both had an opinion on, and Erik found out that he enjoyed it. The back and forth between them had felt pleasant. Erik wasn't a scholar in any way, even if he did have a degree in law that he finished just as The Brotherhood started to get their fame, and Charles didn't seem to want to invalidate his arguments and views because of that.

He had heard many times that he was just a drummer and singer from a popular band who _'talked too much',_ which made him furious considering that nothing that he ever said was without any sort of basis. He wasn't a scholar, but that didn't mean he didn't do any research to talk about what he wanted, that he didn't make sure to get his sources straight before opening his mouth. But Charles seemed to actually listen even if he didn't agree, not putting his arguments as invalid because he wasn't part of the academy, and Erik couldn't help but be slightly surprised at that. _You have a point,_ Charles had said there, as if he was listening. For whatever reason, that made Erik feel more comfortable around Charles.

His mind went back to the present when he saw Charles' hand moving on the paper, the pen leaving its mark until Charles' signature was there, officializing the fact that he was allowing Erik to use his words and voice in his song. Charles looked up at him after putting the document carefully back in its folder and handing it to Erik with a smile that made the drummer smile back.

"You got what you wanted." Charles said, a playful tone in his voice.

"I did. That's proof that being insistent works."

"That's proof that we _do_ agree on some points." Charles corrected, his smile never leaving. "Good luck with your song."

"What really made you change your mind?" Erik asked, seeing Charles frown at him curiously. "The press will still be all over you because you agreed on _'being part'_ of a song by a band that has views that you go against. Wasn't that why you didn't want to give me your permission?"

"You said it yourself last week: we fight the same cause. I don't agree with your views on most things, but that song is a middle ground, isn't it? The lyrics you showed me talk about something us both as mutants can relate to and that others will too, I'm sure. It doesn't betray my own views as I thought it would before I saw the lyrics. Besides, if we don't unite on our shared views about our own kind and experiences, how can we expect others to do the same?"

"Is that what you'll tell the press?" Charles chuckled then, seeing a teasing smile on Erik's lips with the words.

"I guess so, yes. I'll also make sure to say you bothered me for an entire day and then some more to get me to let you use my voice." 

Erik chuckled, taking the folder and stopping in his place, hesitating on getting up to leave. He couldn't lie that he had enjoyed the talking so far, just like he did on the Saturday they met at Central Park, and he didn't want to leave without saying something. In the back of his mind he could hear Emma's voice — and he was highly suspicious that his best friend had somehow managed to program his brain to use her voice as his conscience's voice — telling him to ask him out again. But that was too forward, they had just met and he really shouldn't be thinking about it, especially around a telepath. In the hurry to stop his thoughts from reaching Charles, however, Erik opened his mouth.

"We should meet again."

Charles raised his eyebrows at him, making Erik purse his lips in nervousness. He was in his thirties, and yet he felt like a teenager all over again, and he surely hated that feeling. But, since he had already started, better to continue and save himself somehow.

"I quite enjoyed our talks so I thought that maybe we could meet again." he said. The mention of their talks, which so far on two of the three times they met in person were political, felt like a safe bet for him. It didn't mean much, and Erik wasn't sure that he _wanted_ it to mean much. "My band is going to be playing in our private studio this Friday night. You could come and we could have dinner after."

"Oh…"

Charles looked very unsure, his body leaning back on his chair as he played nervously with the pen in his hands, and Erik felt like he needed to say something more.

"Raven should too." bringing the sister into the play was also a safe bet. It wasn't a date, he was just inviting Charles there. And Raven. Couldn't forget about Raven. "She's a fan for all I know so I think she'd like it. And maybe we can even manage to please you as well, Professor."

Erik tried a smirk, still slightly nervous with Charles' response, but calming down when the other man chuckled and smiled back, nodding after a moment.

"That'll depend on the song you'll be playing, but you convinced me. What time?"

"We'll be starting at six."

"Alright, I can manage that. Email me the address, I'm sure you know my email by now."

"I could text you."

"You don't have my number." Erik opened his mouth to reply, closing it after a few seconds because _was he really going to ask for Charles' number?_

For a moment, they just stared at each other and Erik was sure he had just made everything awkward at that exact moment, until Charles smiled and took a small notepad from the side of his desk — he recognized it as the one Charles had handed him the first time they met — and soon he was writing something in one of the blank pages. Erik only watched, slightly confused, until Chatles tore the paper from the notepad and pushed it across the desk towards Erik. When the drummer took it, he almost couldn't believe he was seeing a phone number written there.

"Text me then." Charles said, a smirk on his lips that made Erik almost lose his mind trying to decipher it.

  
  


**_CHARLES_ **

What Charles didn't expect of that Friday night was to be alone with Erik Lehnsherr at the end of it.

It had started well, with him and Raven getting to The Brotherhood's private studio and meeting Emma Frost who, for what Charles quickly caught from the woman's mind, was Erik's childhood friend — his best friend. She had met them at the sidewalk in front of the small building where the studio was, icy eyes staring at the siblings with curiosity as they got closer, and soon Charles also learned that she was a telepath like himself. Raven had a few awful moments as Charles got excited about Emma's mutation and started asking questions that later he would wonder if were rude. Thankfully, Emma only seemed amused at the excited Professor, and was more than happy to show her secondary mutation as well, Charles smiling from ear to ear as he looked at Emma Frost's crystal skin. 

She had taken them to the studio, which consisted of a loft modified to apparently be soundproof and had a few pieces of furniture around as well as a wet bar and musical instruments in one of the corners. Erik was already at the drums when they got out of the elevator, arms moving around as he made a quick beat, and Charles couldn't help but be enthralled by the way he was playing, the movements of his body, and the way his mind seemed to be calm as his focus was on the beat he was making. Around him, the other band members chanted for him to go faster, smiles in their faces as they watched Erik go at it.

He had to admit that he always found mesmerizing to watch a drummer play, to see the coordination it took to make the beat right and pleasant to the ear — he never had coordination enough to do it, but he loved seeing other people play —, and he couldn't take his eyes off of Erik as the drummer played, seeing the easy smile on Erik's lips as he enjoyed his friends' cheers, as well as the peace that came with playing the drums for him. Charles didn't even notice the smile on his own lips as he watched that.

When they finally noticed the newcomers, Erik stopped, eyes quickly meeting Charles' as they stared at each other, sharing quick smiles before Charles' attention was on his sister and the way she seemed excited to be there. She was a fan, so he wasn't really surprised when she grabbed his shoulders and shook his body a little bit in excitement, making him laugh. Erik's eyes were still on him while it happened. 

They introduced themselves to the band, Raven with a giant smile on her lips as she shook a few hands, and soon they all were chatting together. Erik left the drums behind for a moment to talk to the others as well, looking very at ease there, in the middle of the others and in his studio, and it was a pleasant thing to see Erik's constant harsh expression way softer around those people. Even his mind seemed calmer, even if Charles caught the faint nervousness that came with having the Professor there, on what Charles knew was supposed to be a date.

Charles wasn't dumb, even if Raven would argue with that statement sometimes. He knew Erik's intentions when he asked him to hang out and knew that Erik was unsure of it, trying to play it cool by adding Raven to the equation and also the rest of the band — he had been thinking very loudly about it when he was at Charles' office, and it was hard not to catch those thoughts as they happened. Charles had accepted because he couldn't deny that talking to Erik was interesting, the drummer could discuss politics with Charles and keep him on his toes to come up with good arguments back, and Charles was always interested in people who could do that, who could debate with him like Erik did. 

It wasn't the only reason that Charles accepted the invite, however.

Erik had a charm to him that Charles couldn't really explain, but that he was very much attracted to even before meeting the drummer in person, although he would never admit out loud for Raven to hear — she kept saying that Charles was into the _bad boy_ type while they were growing up, saying that Charles' ex, Logan, was a perfect example of that, even if Logan had been a soft man who just looked and acted gruff. Erik seemed to fit that bad boy type for Raven since she wouldn't shut up about it when he told her about the drummer inviting them to see the band play. 

"You like him, don't you?" she had said, not even giving Charles the chance to answer before opening her mouth again. "You do, he's just your type! Leather jackets, sunglasses, and the face of a man who seems to be constantly looking for a fight."

"That's not my type."

"Yes it is, you like that because you're a nerd!"

She wasn't completely wrong on that one, although there was more to it than just what Raven had listed.

The conversation between them and the band — and Emma, who had apparently become part of their family thanks to her and Erik's friendship — went on nicely. Everyone had been nice to him and Raven, and Charles quickly grew fond of Angel and the way the woman thought of him. Erik didn't talk much the whole time, but Charles could see and feel the way his eyes went to him a few times, observing the Professor for a few seconds before going back to his friends. After a few minutes of pleasant talking, they went to play something. 

Emma sat by Raven's side as the band got their instruments and started playing a random song that Charles didn't know. The Professor's eyes stayed on Erik the whole time, just watching him move and sing as if there were no worries in the world outside. Sometimes, Erik would look back at him and blush with the attention, even if it was barely noticeable.

"Anything you guys want to hear?" Angel asked after a few songs, a giant smile on her lips as the others laughed thanks to Janos playing a chord wrong at the end of the last song.

"What about _'Easy On You'?"_ Raven asked, making Charles frown for a second and look at her. "Charles likes that one a lot so I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

Charles gave a non-committal shrug, although he did like that song. Angel nodded with a smile and soon they were playing Easy On You, making Charles smile lightly at the lyrics and hearing Erik singing it live with the help of Angel's vocals. It was a love song, one of the reasons why Charles liked it so much — he couldn't help but loving love songs even when he wasn't really interested in any romance himself —, but he felt his cheeks growing red as Erik's eyes suddenly looked at him as he sang the lyrics, eyes lingering on his for a moment before he looked back at his drums. 

They played a few more songs until everyone decided to stop thanks to the hour and because they were tired. There was a moment of conversation again, where Raven and Charles praised the entire band for their performance there, until Emma got up from the couch with her eyes on the clock on the wall.

"I need to leave, I have some boring company stuff to look at tonight before I can rest. Angel, do you still want that ride home?"

"I do, yes."

"Where are you guys heading?" Raven asked suddenly, making Charles frown at his sister.

"I live just a few blocks from here, but it's still far enough for me to get a ride." Angel shrugged. There was a smirk in her lips that Charles didn't know where it was coming from. On the drums, Erik watched the scene unfolding curiously as well. "Emma could give you a ride too if you want."

"There's no need, she-" 

"Sure! I'd very much like that." Raven cut Charles' words, making Charles' frown deepen.

 _«What is happening?»_ he sent over to Raven's mind, too confused to even properly voice his thoughts. She didn't answer, only smiling wider at Angel and Emma and getting her things.

"We should go as well." Janos said then, pointing at Azazel, who didn't even wait for a moment before grabbing the man by his arm and disappearing with him on a cloud of smoke. 

"Raven-" Charles tried to call when he saw his sister leaving with the two women.

"See you soon, _Charl!"_ she sang at him before she was out of the door and probably already getting into the elevator.

It took a moment to realize that the only two people left were him and Erik, and suddenly the two men stared at each other, the loft silent now as they tried to understand what just happened.

"Did they just-" Charles started.

"They did." Erik confirmed with a nod, face as incredulous as Charles'. "This smells like Emma's doing."

"To me it smells like Raven's."

"Probably both."

They stared at the closed door then for a moment, still trying to access the situation, until both of them burst into laughter. There was some nervousness there at being left alone by their friends and family as if they wanted them to have a date, but there was just the funny feeling of knowing that their friends had just done that in order for them to be alone. It felt almost surreal to believe.

After a few moments, Erik got up from his stool and left the drums alone, running his hand through his hair for a moment and smiling down at Charles.

"Well, since we're alone, would you like a drink, Professor?"

Charles smiled up at him, feeling the drummer's mind shine with nervous energy and hope that Charles wouldn't just leave after that. Charles only nodded. 

"I would, yes."

***

"So this is what you listen to instead of my band." Erik said, body lounging on the couch as Charles had his chair across from him, eyes on his phone as he tried to find another song he liked.

Charles looked up at the drummer then, seeing the playful smile on his lips, mind already starting to get messy thanks to the alcohol they had been drinking — Charles had stopped an hour ago, choosing to drink the sodapops that Erik had stored there instead of getting too drunk to go home. Around them, _"Muse"_ by MisterWives played on the speaker connected to Charles' phone, making him chuckle.

"I like this song! Tell me you don't want to dance to it."

"I'm very much still and not dancing."

"Your feet are moving to the beat." Charles pointed out, and Erik stopped his feet at the same moment, making the Professor chuckle again. "It's a good song to do stuff around the house and to dance to!"

Erik chuckled at the words, sitting up to take a sip of his drink and raising his eyebrows as Charles changed the song to _"The Sound"_ by The 1975.

"So you like the _dance-y_ pop ones." Erik guessed, making Charles shrug, only watching as Erik made himself more comfortable.

"You might be right."

They had had dinner earlier, ordered food from a nearby restaurant that Erik said he always ordered when he was in the studio, and Charles was still full and with that pleasant feeling of a good meal lingering in his head. He saw the exact moment when Erik's face lit up with an idea that crossed his mind. Charles just waited for him to say something, curious — always curious.

"I've been thinking about the rhythm for the song. The one inspired by you. I still don't have a name for it." Erik's lips curved up into a small smile, looking at Charles proudly. "Would you like to hear what I have so far?"

"Please, I'd like to see if I'll despise the song because of the rhythm."

Erik snorted, shaking his head, and got up from the couch to get a guitar that was placed next to the rest of the instruments. Charles raised his eyebrows then, surprised that Erik didn't go for the drums but pleased anyway. He remembered seeing a video once, of Erik doing a solo with his guitar in one of the shows, almost not being able to hear the man playing and singing thanks to the screams of the crowd, and as Erik sat down on the couch again with the guitar he couldn't help but to think how attractive Erik looked — what could he say? He liked people who could play instruments.

He watched intently as Erik tuned the guitar with his power, seeming to already know the exact amount of tension that the metal strings needed to give the best tune, and soon Erik was looking back at him.

"Ready?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Charles smiled gently then, feeling again that nervous energy consuming Erik's thoughts, as if he was afraid of Charles' opinion for a moment before he started playing. To say that the Professor was hypnotized by seeing the other man playing the guitar and singing so close to him was a given.

It took a moment for Charles to pay attention to the actual song, but at least the rhythm that Erik had thought for it _was_ good and he enjoyed as he played what he had ready so far, clapping when Erik finished and seeing the drummer huff out a laugh.

"That was good! I like it. I guess it'll be another success for you."

"Maybe, but that's not really my focus." Erik put the guitar away on the couch, being careful for it not to fall before looking at Charles again.

"I know. You want to sing what you feel." Erik nodded, making Charles' smile widen a little bit. "It's good. It's a good thing."

"You do that for your speeches as well, don't you?" Erik questioned, smiling easily at Charles without even noticing. "Talk about yourself."

"I suppose I do. It's hard not to start a research or not to write a speech based on myself, my beliefs or my interests. I guess it would be the same for your band and your songs."

"Did you really hate yourself like you said in the speech?" Erik asked, eyes curious over Charles', and Charles shrugged, expression becoming serious.

"I didn't accept who I was for a long while. I guess you can understand that, being a mutant and queer as well… It was a hard process to understand that it was okay. I didn't have much support except Raven back then as well."

"I didn't have that." Erik shook his head, making Charles tilt his head to the side slightly. "My mother supported me as well back then so I guess it helped. The only rejection I faced was from the outside. I always knew who I was and was comfortable with it."

"I think that was my problem, I only knew who I was supposed to be: a rich boy who had to obey the rules and be the pride and joy of the Xavier family. Grow up like that and then marry a woman from another wealthy family and have children to keep the Xavier family alive… It was a big problem when I not only was a mutant, I also wasn't very interested in marrying a woman. It took the base I had of who I was away from me and gave me something entirely different."

"And what changed?"

Charles thought for a second, taking a sip of his soda and looking at one of the windows that showed the street outside, cars coming and going through it and a few people passing by, their minds a soft buzzing against Charles'.

"I realized that there was me and the _'me'_ that my family wanted me to be. Stopped focusing on their vision and focused on mine." Charles smiled, looking back at Erik and seeing his grey eyes focused solely on him and his words. His mind seemed to only focus on Charles as well. "Found out who I was, did what I wanted to do and what felt right for _me_ and for my cause."

"And now you'll collaborate with a radical mutant on a song." Erik raised his bottle and smirked, making Charles roll his eyes but smile back. "Surely your family would be proud."

"Funnily enough, the family that matters is. Raven couldn't be more happy about it."

Their talk went for so long that neither of them realized that midnight was getting close. Charles only noticed the late hour when his body started begging for rest, even if he didn't want the conversation with Erik to stop. Erik seemed to be thinking the same. As they both ordered a car on their phones and Erik started closing the studio, Charles couldn't help but to keep his smile. It had been a while since he had a pleasant night like that one, and it only confirmed to Charles that he enjoyed Erik's company. As they waited in front of the building for the cars, Erik looked down at the Professor with an expectant look, putting his hands on the pockets of his jackets.

"I hope I didn't bore you." Charles chuckled at Erik's words, shaking his head.

"No, quite the contrary. It's a shame that it's so late already. I would've stayed more if I could."

"Maybe another day… You could come earlier. It doesn't even need to be here just… I don't know, somewhere else. Just us?"

Charles tried not to smirk as he felt Erik's mind doing the same thing it did when he invited Charles and Raven to the studio. He was nervous, unsure of his own words — which he suspected was a first for Erik, who seemed to be confident in everything he did, except when it came to _that_ —, but he seemed more determined than the last time. Even so, Charles feigned innocence, tilting his head to the side and blinking a few times up at Erik.

"Like a date?" Erik immediately froze, his thoughts so loud that Charles almost winced at how insecure of his actions that small phrase made him. The telepath decided to take pity on him. "I'd love that actually."

It took a moment for Erik to answer, but when he did all that left his mouth was a soft _"oh"_ and his mind suddenly calmed down, sharp as the first time Charles felt it. 

"I'm free next weekend." Charles offered, seeing Erik nod and smile at him as if he had just won a prize. It was very charming in Charles' eyes.

"Then I'll see you next weekend?" the drummer asked. Charles nodded, smirking at him.

"If you're lucky."

When Charles was already in the car going home, he chuckled to himself making the driver look back at him in the rearview mirror as Charles tried to contain the giddiness of knowing he just had a date and had another one already set for the next weekend. Of all the things that he expected when Erik sent him that email about his song, going out with the drummer and lead singer of The Brotherhood wasn't one.

  
  


**_ERIK_ **

"So, uh, I'd like to focus on Erik for a moment if you guys don't mind." Stephen Colbert said as he looked at the other band members with a sympathetic smile on his lips. Someone in the audience let out a _'woo'_ at that.

"Oh, we're more than used to having this guy taking the spotlight sometimes." Angel answered, slapping the back of Erik's head lightly and making the drummer huff out a laugh. 

It was true, and Erik didn't like the extra attention he received when he was part of a group, but thankfully they had talked about it before and Janos and Azazel were actually grateful for them not being on the spotlight that often because it meant that the cameras would be pointed at Erik and they were free to be idiots with less repercussion. Angel didn't have the same luck, being one of the leads and always being at the front of the stage in their shows; she and Erik usually divided the spotlight, but they would always joke that she was the first to push him to the front and let him deal with the biggest dramas and do the talking. 

Colbert didn't seem like he was trying to take the spotlight from the others as well, probably was just something particular to Erik anyway and he had talked to the others and gave them their deserved attention. The interviews with Colbert were always the easiest ones to make.

"I just wanted to ask you about the pictures that were out recently of you, Erik." Erik frowned for a moment, keeping the smile on his lips as he tried to understand what the host was talking about. "A lot of new pictures going around with you and a Columbia Professor having a drink or just walking around through New York, and there was a rumour of a project that you're making with him?"

"Oh, right." Erik nodded, getting himself more comfortable on the couch he was sitting with Angel, seeing the girl smirk by his side and trying to hide it. She knew more about the nature of Erik's outings with Charles than Colbert apparently. "Yes, I'm working on a new song that will feature part of one of his speeches. I believe you know him. Dr. Charles Xavier?"

"Yes, yes. I had the honor of meeting him for an interview about his work and about mutant politics when the whole _'Mutant Registration Program'_ was being proposed."

"Ah, yes, the MRP being bad was one of the few things me and Dr. Xavier agreed on when it comes to politics." 

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that actually. You and Dr. Xavier have very different views on mutant politics in many areas, was it difficult to work with him?"

"At first." Erik left out a chuckle at the memory of how he met Charles, seeing Colbert smile amusedly. "It wasn't easy to convince him to work with me but I got there in the end. The song is a grey area between us so, when I showed him that, he agreed to let me have his voice in one of my songs."

"Is it a solo project?"

"Oh, no. It'll be part of The Brotherhood's new album, but since I was the one who wrote the song these guys are making me work for it." the audience laughed as Azazel confirmed that information with a thumbs up, Erik allowed himself to smile as well. "It'll be like Angel's song on our last album, but this time it'll be mine."

"And, back to Dr. Xavier a bit, why did you want to collaborate with him on this?"

"Charles may not always agree with me, but we are still both mutants and he has a way with words that keeps everyone interested in what he says. I think you can confirm that from your interview with him."

"He is a very well-spoken man, yes."

"One of his speeches about acceptance caught my ears when I listened to it while I was making dinner and the television was on while he spoke. It made me write the song that will be released soon, and it's a song about me, and him, and Angel, and Azazel, and Janos, and basically any mutant living in this world..." Erik shrugged, seeing Colbert nodding in understanding as he talked. "I made it because of him, which means we made it together in a way. It made sense to have him there, the original source."

"And is working with him pleasant?"

Erik couldn't hold back the smile then, the memories of the _'work'_ he had been doing with Charles — consisting mostly in dates where he found himself even more enthralled to the Professor with each one — coming back to his mind and making him wonder if Charles was watching that interview, if he was seeing the smile on his face and knowing exactly what Erik was thinking about even with him being too far away for his telepathy to work; if he was smiling back. 

"Very. Dr. Xavier is a very stubborn man, but so am I. I think that's why it works between us. I can't wait to meet him again for our next talk."

By his side, Angel snorted and rolled her eyes, making Colbert frown for a fraction of a second at her reaction. Something told Erik that the host, and many other people who were watching, were able to understand Erik's words.

Hopefully, Charles did too. 

***

Erik jumped slightly when a newspaper was placed aggressively over his breakfast plate, watching as Emma gracefully sat at the chair in front of him and stared at him with her icy eyes, white clothes blinding Erik's eyes in the morning sun. At this point, Erik was thoroughly convinced she wore those around him because he said he didn't like them.

She had crashed at his place the night before because it was closer than hers and she had the key to Erik's house anyway, he never cared when she used his apartment as long as she didn't bother him when he was asleep or working on something. He could argue that throwing a newspaper at his breakfast was bothering him, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. 

"Good morning to you too. I didn't know you read the news." he said, picking up the newspaper with little curiosity.

"You should talk to Charles." her voice was harsh, making him get suddenly alert with the tone and with Charles' name being involved. "Be sure he is okay."

"And why's that?"

"Read the news, sugar."

Erik turned his eyes to the headline of one of the columns on the newspaper — it was one of the newspapers that focused solely on mutant news for what Erik could gather —, trying to understand what Emma meant, and he soon noticed Charles' name mentioned on the body of the news.

**_Columbia University Receives Backlash From Human Supremacists_ **

_by Warren Worthington_

_The Columbia University had a difficult moment on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 2nd, when a group of human supremacists led by Rev. William Stryker, known to be linked with mutant experimentation in his past in the military, arrived at the campus chanting that the university was working with the mutant supremacists by having Dr. Charles Xavier as part of its faculty body._

_The claims came from the fact that, on the last monday Moday, August 31st, singer and drummer Erik Lehnsherr from the mutant band known as The Brotherhood confirmed on an interview with Stephen Colbert that him and Dr. Xavier were working together on a song project, raising a rumour that Xavier was involved with the more radical ideals that Lehnsherr openly supports. As much as Lehnsherr made clear that he and Xavier had different views, considering that the Professor made his name under a more pacifistic approach when it came to mutant politics, the news of their collaboration didn't sit well with a few anti mutant groups._

_Stryker and his group made a blockage in front of the building where Xavier was giving one of his classes at the time, stopping him or anyone else from leaving, and chanting words of hate towards the Professor that ranged from prejudice words about his mutation to homophobic and ableist comments._

_The_ _Columbia University managed to move the human supremacists out of the campus after hours and after a few violent attacks to the building where they tried to get to Xavier. The mutants around the campus helped to suppress their attacks, stopping them from getting to the Professor or hurting other mutants in the meantime, but there were a few close calls._

 _The_ _university posted a note in their social media platforms on the night of the happening, saying that they stand with Xavier and that the attacks on the Professor wouldn't be tolerated inside their campus. Columbia is known as one of the first universities in the world to hold mutant research, thanks to a program that Xavier himself made within the university. The Professor gave them more notoriety with his projects inside the faculty, and their support of him during these attacks reflects just how important Xavier is to the university._

_According to sources, Charles Xavier was able to leave the campus safely, but he'll be away from his duties in the university until the fire dies down. Rev. Stryker will be holding an open event on this Thursday, September 3rd, of anti mutant nature._

Erik froze for a second after reading that, mouth opening slightly as he tried to say something but couldn't. He felt his heart drop at the thought that Charles could've been hurt.

In front of him, Emma huffed, and Erik knew her for long enough to know she was worried under that irritated expression. She and Charles had gotten along well after he and Erik started going out together — consequently, Emma was around Erik enough times to interact with Charles on those times —, and apparently she cared enough for him to be worried about his well-being.

"Call him." she said when she noticed that Erik wouldn't say anything, and Erik wouldn't disobey an order like that.

He got up from his chair, throwing the newspaper on the table and picking up his phone, breakfast now forgotten as he went to the window while he looked for Charles' number on his phone. It took three long rings for Charles to pick up.

_"Erik?"_

"Hey, are you okay? I just saw the news about what happened yesterday."

 _"Oh. Oh, yes, I'm okay Erik. Thank you."_ the calm tone in Charles' voice made Erik sigh in relief. He saw as Emma seemed to relax in her chair as well, probably listening in to the whole conversation. 

"Are you home?"

_"Yes. Columbia offered me a few days away from the campus to wait until there's security enough to make sure Stryker or anyone else won't be able to get to me or the students. I'm still not happy that I can't work."_

Erik couldn't help but smile at the slight irritation in Charles' voice as he said that, as if not being able to give his classes was the worst thing that could happen to him. It never ceased to amuse Erik how Charles was dedicated to his work, any setback to it being a major pain for him.

"I'm glad you're safe." Erik finally said, sighing slightly and shaking his head after. "I'm sorry you had to go through that because of me…"

_"Oh, don't be silly, Erik. It wasn't your fault. Stryker has been looking for a reason to do what he did yesterday for ages, I've received enough threats from him and his cronies to know it would happen sooner or later."_

Erik's blood boiled for a moment with that information, wanting to hunt down the Reverend and maybe melt anything metal that was around or on him; he considered showing at the event Stryker would be holding only for that, but he knew that 1) it would only cause unwanted trouble for him and 2) Charles would be angry at him. Reason number two was the biggest reason why he didn't go berserker on Stryker and his group of weird religious fanatics.

 _"I don't regret this at all. It's not your fault, no need to apologise."_ Charles said on the line, making Erik sigh again.

"Well, as long as you don't regret it..."

_"I don't! It led me to go out with a really charming man."_

"Oh really?" Erik smiled, not being able to stop himself. Emma made a gagging sound from the table, reminding him that she was probably still listening in, but he chose to ignore it. "He sounds like a lucky guy."

_"Maybe he is. I'm thinking about asking him to have lunch with me so I have company on this boring day where I'm stuck at my house."_

"I'm sure he would love that."

_"Then I'll be waiting for him."_

  
  


**_CHARLES_ **

Thankfully for Charles, Stryker gave up on trying to get to him after the Professor was called for a few interviews on radio shows and talk shows on television, where he reiterated what Erik had said in his interview before: as much as they were together on that project — and Charles made sure to leave out the part where they were together in other ways —, their views were different and Charles wouldn't change the way he worked in any way.

"What is happening with me and Erik Lehnsherr is just two mutants getting together to make something for our kind." he had said in one of the interviews. "It has nothing to do with our different views, it has to do with who we are, and that should be celebrated."

And although the peace that came after he came clean about that matter felt good, he couldn't deny that the feeling of having Erik by his side on the couch as they talked and showed songs that they liked to each other while smiling dumbly the whole time felt way better. 

"Here, wait, I have one." Erik said, chuckling after Charles put some kid's song to play on YouTube, taking the remote and typing something into the search bar.

Charles took that moment to change his position on the couch to make sure he wouldn't get pressure sores from staying in one position for too long, suddenly hearing his own voice coming from the television and raising his head quickly. 

_"For us, mutants, growing up is not the same as the process of growing up of a human child or teenager. For example, some of us are born with physical mutations, something that makes us different from the other babies, and right then and there the process of rejection starts."_ he said on the video on the tv, eyes focused on the crowd that was listening to him. Charles remembered trying his best not to remember the cameras that were recording him there — he never fully got used to being in front of them, even if he did it multiple times now.

"Uh, I don't think that's a song, Erik." Charles frowned up at the other man, seeing him smile and shrug, pulling Charles closer.

"It is. I made it into a song, didn't I?"

Charles blinked a few times before realization dawned on him. That was the speech that started it all. His eyes moved to the screen again, his mind feeling Erik's buzzing around it, a few thoughts slipping out into Charles' head and letting him know just what was direct inspiration for Erik in his words there. It was still weird to think that this one speech had been what brought Charles to that moment, to sitting on the couch with Erik and enjoying a nice moment.

"It's one of your best ones." Erik said after a while, when the speech was almost over. 

"I liked it too. Raven helped me write it." there was a smile in Charles' face as he remembered him and Raven sitting down at that very same couch and debating what words would be better for some parts.

"That's the part I want in the song."

Charles paid attention to his own words again for a moment, noticing how focused Erik's mind had become as he wondered how he would do it.

 _"So, with that long speech, all I wanted to say was that it needs to change. That the process of rejection needs to be broken, so we can grow."_ Charles' face was serious there, and he remembered the feeling that hit him from the room, a few mutants present projecting their emotions so loudly that he himself felt taken by it. The hope he felt coming from the others, caused from his own words, was contagious. Maybe Erik had felt the same. _"Break the pavement and let that flower grow, have its beauty, and be around others. I'm tired of seeing my kind in the middle of waves of an ocean that wants to swallow them whole until they drown. So, if you weren't listening to what I was saying until now and only started to pay attention at this exact moment, listen to this: Accept us. Let us live. That's all we ever wanted."_

As the speech ended with an applause from the audience, Erik sighed next to him, making Charles look at him again. Erik looked back, a small smile on his lips. His mind seemed to be a mess of excitement for the song to come out, happiness for what he had done with Charles, and a sense of pleasure just for looking at the Professor there. It made Charles chuckle slightly, how they had arrived at that moment seeming almost surreal.

He stopped thinking about it, however, when Erik lowered his head and placed a kiss on his lips. It wasn't their first kiss, far from it, but Charles still felt giddy at the feeling of Erik's lips kissing his.

***

On the day of the release of the song, Erik was a ball of nerves. They were at the band's private studio with Angel, Janos and Azazel, accompanied as well by Emma and Raven, only waiting for the song to air — it would be the first single of the new album like Angel's was, which was a big deal —, but Erik hadn't sat down to lounge with the others _once_ the whole time. Instead, he was at the drums, trying to release the nervous energy by playing.

Charles only watched him as Erik's grey eyes focused on a random point and as he kept his hands and feet moving to keep the beat. It was always hypnotizing to watch him play, but Charles couldn't help but want to say something to calm his boyfriend — because the title had become official a few days ago after Erik had recorded the song and taken Charles for a date and called him that by accident; not that he was complaining.

 _«Don't worry about him, sugar. He gets like this everytime a new song is being released.»_ he heard Emma's voice in his head, making him finally look away from Erik to watch as the woman talked with Raven and Janos normally. « _This one is making him a little more nervous, but when the release time comes, he'll relax a little more.»_

_«Are you sure? He looks pretty nervous to me. His mind is practically a muffled scream in my shields at this point…»_

_«Oh, don't I know it.»_ he felt what would be a mental chuckle, making him smile slightly, eyes going back to Erik and meeting his eyes for a second. They smiled at each other before Erik was distracted again. « _Trust me, I know this knucklehead for long enough to know it.»_

When the song finally came out and it started to play for everyone to hear on the speakers that Azazel had brought with him, Charles confirmed that Emma was right. Erik relaxed almost immediately when he heard his own voice and the rhythm playing, a wave of _'it's out now and there's nothing I can do or worry about anymore'_ crossing his mind. Even so, Charles took his hand and smiled at him with excitement as he finally heard the finalized version of the song that brought them together playing, knowing that others were listening as well on that exact moment. 

Erik held his hand back, smiling back at Charles with some pride filling his mind.

It only took a few minutes of the song being released before Angel opened the band's twitter account to look at the feedback. Erik got tense for a moment more before he heard Angel reading the tweets from many people praising the song. Even Charles couldn't help to be flattered as he heard Angel read him a few people praising _him_ and his words that made into the song.

"I can't believe my brother is in a song. Finally you're cool, Charles." Raven said after a while, making Charles groan as the others laughed.

"I was cool before I was in a song."

"Sure. Keep saying it until you believe it."

At the end of the night, when Charles and Erik were alone at the studio, they listened to the song again by themselves, smiling the whole time with a happy feeling that flooded the room.  
  


**_EPILOGUE_ **

Charles woke up with the sound of a guitar being played softly in the room, his eyes forcing themselves open as he fought the sleep back and tried to understand what was happening until he saw Erik sat at the window of his room, guitar in hands as his face seemed concentrated in playing a sequence of chords he didn't even know yet. The moonlight against his skin made him look like a dream, and Charles really didn't want to wake up from that.

He moved a bit on the bed to look at Erik properly, seeing the drummer raise his eyes from the guitar strings to look at him, mind shifting from the concentrated mode to the worried as he saw Charles moving.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." he said, voice calm against the silence of the night. 

"It's alright, darling." Charles' voice was rough from sleep as he scratched his eyes slightly before he could look at Erik again. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Got inspired."

"By what?"

"You." Charles blushed as a smirk appeared on Erik's lips. "Again. You're quite an inspiration, Professor."

"I'm starting to think you only use me for your songs." Charles joked, a tired smile painting his lips, making Erik's eyes soften over him. 

"If I do make a song out of this bit of inspiration, I won't be releasing it."

"And why not?"

"Because as much as I want to scream to the world how much I love you, I'd like to keep it to myself as well. It would be our song." Erik shrugged, starting to play a melody on the guitar as his eyes went back to it. "I'd like to keep it that way."

Charles hummed, watching his boyfriend play next to the window, as if all the worries in the world washed away when Erik played something. Charles had been with him for long enough to know only music and Charles himself made Erik's mind that calm, which was very flattering if someone asked him.

Charles ssometimes still didn't believe they were actually dating, and he knew that Erik felt the same. He still couldn't figure out if the affection he felt was his own or Erik's at that moment.

"You know what I'd like to keep?" Charles asked, making Erik look at him again with a questioning look. "You on the bed with me so I can sleep next to you. Do you think I can get that?"

Erik snorted, shaking his head and putting the guitar away, quickly moving under the covers to lay by Charles' side, placing a quick kiss to the telepath's lips.

"Is that good?"

"More than good."

Charles was almost asleep again when he heard Erik's voice next to his ear, a whisper in the night.

"I also wouldn't release the song because it would probably talk about how sexy you are. That's just for me."

As they both laughed in the dark room, Charles felt glad once again for denying Erik's requests of using his words in his song until his only option was meeting Charles face to face.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Link to Charles' speech and Erik's song lyrics(full): [X](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Gaa-B3LxyF_0v76nA0R65gGjOSPtpvdkZwxdUNcSbKQ/edit?usp=drivesdk)  
> Link to feathershollyandgolly's cover of the song on the guitar: [X](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h-A1lLAErM0jz-kLldtz6C3FSMKZQv8c/view?usp=drivesdk)  
> \---  
> Comments and Kuddos are more than appreciated and keeps an author's soul alive. Even a "❤️" or "+kuddos" are valid and will make me happy. ❤️
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](http://hellfre.tumblr.com) and [twitter](http://twitter.com/hllfire)!


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